Mid-Level Faculty Research Fellowship
Spring or Fall 2018
Description and Purpose
Southern Connecticut State University recognizes the importance of faculty scholarship and creative activity in furthering its mission. The University is committed to expanding the array of support for such scholarship and creative activity. The Mid-Level Faculty Research Fellowship aims to provide mid-level faculty members with a significant amount of reassigned time at this crucial stage in their careers at Southern for these purposes. The Fellow may generate publication(s) from his/her dissertation or other previous research, or conduct new research or creative activity. It is expected that the Fellow will pursue work leading to a publishable article or its scientific or creative equivalent, and will make a public presentation at Southern or within the ConnSCU system.
Applications will be reviewed by a group of faculty, representing a broad range of disciplines, who have been appointed by the Provost to serve on the University-wide Research and Scholarship Advisory Committee.
This fellowship is sponsored by the Office of the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs and is independent from the reassigned time allocated in the AAUP contract. This reassigned time will be coupled with a proportionate release from service responsibilities for the semester of the fellowship.
For this project, ONE fellowship of NINE hours of reassigned time will be awarded, for either the Spring 2018 semester or Fall 2018 semester
Eligibility, evaluation criteria, and proposal guidelines follow. A cover sheet for the application is attached.
Eligibility
Mid-level faculty are here defined as all full time faculty at the rank of Associate Professor, with or without tenure, and all tenured full time faculty at the rank of Assistant Professor. Such faculty who have completed at least one year of service at SCSU by Fall 2017 or Spring 2018 are eligible to apply for this fellowship. The applicant must hold a terminal degree in his or her field.
Criteria
The Committee will use the following criteria to rate the quality and completeness of proposals:
1. Significance: Evidence of a well-focused and worthy purpose, presented in relationship to previous scholarship. Please include in your application a discussion of how the project will contribute to your discipline or field of study.
2. Workplan: An appropriate and feasible method as well as a plan of action or a setting of conditions that will result in accomplishing the objectives of the project. Please include a proposed schedule or timeline.
3. Outcomes and Reporting: Likelihood of significant outcome, such as publication, performance, or exhibition. Applicants should be aware that a final report highlighting scholarly accomplishments will be due 90 days after the completion of the project. Furthermore, it is expected that the recipient will complete a manuscript for a publishable article or its scientific or creative equivalent and make a public presentation at Southern or within ConnSCU. These responsibilities must be fulfilled within two years following the end of the fellowship semester.
Proposals
A fellowship proposal must contain the following:
1. Cover Sheet and Abstract: Use the form provided. Please note that the cover sheet must be signed by the departmental chairperson, indicating his/her awareness of the application.
2. Proposal Narrative: The narrative should respond to and be organized by the headings given in the “Criteria” section (i.e., Significance, Workplan, Outcomes and Reporting). The narrative should fit onto no more than five double-spaced pages of printed text using 12-point font and one-inch margins. A bibliography or works cited page is required in order to help the committee understand the significance of your research and should not exceed one page; this page will count toward the five page limit. No other materials/appendices will be allowed in the application. Please keep in mind that the review committee consists of faculty in a range of disciplines, so that proposals will likely be read by faculty who are not necessarily discipline specialists. Therefore, proposals should be written for an informed generalist while still giving enough specific information on the significance of the research and the soundness of the proposed method to allow a reasonable evaluation by faculty from outside of your area. A brief review of related research undertaken by the applicant and/or others will help the committee understand the significance of the proposed project. A creative arts proposal should contain a description of the work to be produced, materials and facilities to be used, and production details.
3. Curriculum Vitae: Please include a curriculum vitae indicating your educational background, professional experiences, previous and present research, and other scholarly accomplishments.
4. Human Subjects and Vertebrate Animals: If the research involves either human subjects or vertebrate animals, you must so indicate on the proposal cover sheet. As with any research project, the Fellow must seek approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for human research subjects or the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) for vertebrate animals. The Fellow should contact the appropriate committee for information on submission procedures and timing. In no case should work with human beings or vertebrate animals as research subjects be undertaken until the proper approval is obtained. Failure to obtain proper approval may result in the termination of the fellowship. Letters of approval from the IRB or IACUC must be attached to the final report.
Deadline
The attached application form and all required supporting materials must be fully completed, signed by necessary parties and submitted in electronic format to the Office of Faculty Development at by 4:00 PM, Friday, October 13, 2017.
Electronic Signatures
Please note that a typed signature constitutes an original signature, provided all entries are submitted via a valid Southern e-mail account on the electronic submission to the Office of Faculty Development.
Proposals that fail to adhere to these application guidelines will not be reviewed.
Proposal Review
Applications will be reviewed by a committee of faculty appointed by the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs to serve on the Research and Scholarship Advisory Committee. The sub-committee designated to evaluate Fellowship applications will represent a broad range of disciplines. The sub-committee may solicit feedback from additional readers in the event that special expertise is required to evaluate the proposal.
Each reviewer will be asked to assign a rating from "1" for weak to "5" for excellent for each of the three criteria listed above. The scores from the readers will be added to produce total scores, which will assist in ranking the proposals.
The Research and Scholarship Advisory Committee will make recommendations to the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs, who will announce the awards.
In order to avoid undue hardship for a department, the recipient of the fellowship should work with the school dean, department chairperson, and the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs to select the semester for the fellowship.
Questions
Questions regarding the application process or other issues may be directed to Michele Thompson at ext. 25481 or via e-mail to .
Date revision 8/29/2017
Mid-Level Faculty Research Fellowship Proposal Cover Sheet
Spring 2018 or Fall 2018
Last Name:
First Name:
Department:
Faculty Rank:
Ph.D. or Terminal Degree Granting Institution:
Date of Ph.D. or Terminal Degree:
Date of Appointment at SCSU:
E-mail: Phone:
Campus Address:
Project Title:
ABSTRACT (Limit: 100 words)
YES NO
Does your research involve human beings as research subjects?
Does your research involve vertebrate animals?
If you answered "yes" to either question, please see section 4 of “Proposals.”
______
Applicant’s Signature Date
______
Department Chairperson’s Signature Date